Various types of power/voltage converters/regulators are used to provide highly regulated voltage and current for powering an electronic load of an overall electronic device. The power converters typically operate within a prescribed range for the output current or power level for one or more input or output voltage levels. Very low levels of output power (i.e., light loads) present distinct operational issues that are generally not problematic or significant at normal, or heavy, loads. Thus, power converters are typically designed to operate in different operating modes, e.g., a light load mode of operation and a heavy load mode of operation. On the other hand, if a power converter were to operate the same during a light load situation as it does during a heavy load situation, then the power converter could experience significant loss of efficiency or reliability. The light load mode of operation, therefore, provides for greater efficiency and/or reliability specifically under light load conditions. Additionally, although very little power is being consumed during light load conditions compared to heavy load conditions, many electronic devices spend a large amount of time in light load conditions. For example, some electronic parts of a cell phone may be in a low power standby mode while in a user's pocket for most of the day, or a computer may draw a very small amount of power to maintain at least a clock when the computer is ostensibly powered off. It is, thus, very important for the power converter to exhibit high power consumption efficiency and operational reliability during light load mode, since the power converter may spend most of its time in this mode. To meet this need, designers of power converters have produced a variety of solutions for low power mode operations, each with different tradeoffs for advantages and disadvantages with respect to complexity, reliability, transient responsiveness, size, and efficiency, among other considerations.